Find the Vin Problem card and set it aside. Shuffle the rest of the deck and deal the cards into four roughly equal face-down piles. Shuffle the Vin card into one of these piles and set that pile aside.

The length of the game is controlled by placing one or more of the other three piles on top of the Vin pile, with the remaining piles under the Vin pile.

If this is your first time playing Mistborn: House War, we recommend a short game to get a feel for things.

Once the Problem deck is built, place it face down on the space marked on the board.

- Short Game (60 to 90 minutes): 1 pile on top of the Vin pile, 2 piles below
- Medium Game (90 to 120 minutes): 2 piles on top of the Vin pile, 1 pile below
- Long Game (120 to 180 minutes): 3 piles on top of the Vin pile, 0 piles below